Pardew ‘furious’ after four WBA players steal taxi in Spain

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At least when you’re bottom of the Premier League table and appear headed for relegation, as West Bromwich Albion now find themselves, you can take the positive approach that “the only way to go from here is up.”

“This is obviously not ideal. They broke the curfew and that’s unacceptable and I feel a bit let down by that.”

…

“It’s difficult for managers. Obviously, I was furious with what happened but at the same time I’ve got to stay faithful to the players and give them a chance to remedy the situation.”

The night’s timeline reads something like this: the quartet wanted to go out in the city center, but everything was closed late at night; they got a taxi to a McDonald’s by the Barcelona port; the driver left the car, at which point the players decided to drive back to the team hotel around 5:30 a.m.; the care was returned to the cab driver around 8 a.m.

Evans was stripped of his captaincy for Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round defeat to Southampton. The players have since released the following statement through the club’s website:

“We felt it important we identify ourselves as the players involved in an incident which occurred during the training camp in Spain this week out of respect for team-mates who otherwise could be implicated by association. We freely acknowledge and apologize for the break of curfew which we accept represented a breach of the standards of professionalism required of us as representatives of West Bromwich Albion.

“The club has informed us that it will now conduct its own inquiry into the incident and we will cooperate fully. In the meantime, we would like to assure our supporters that this incident does not reflect the determination and resolve we possess to do all we can to recover a difficult season.”

With 11 games left to play, West Brom currently sit seven points adrift of safety; Pardew’s position grows more and more tenuous with each point dropped; and three of their final 11 games are against Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

Saying they needed to claim responsibility for the incident so speculation could stop over which four players were in trouble, the four said (from wba.co.uk):

We freely acknowledge and apologise for the break of curfew which we accept represented a breach of the standards of professionalism required of us as representatives of West Bromwich Albion FC.

The Club has informed us that it will now conduct its own inquiry into the incident and we will co-operate fully.

In the meantime, we would like to assure our supporters that this incident does not reflect the determination and resolve we possess to do all we can to recover a difficult season.

It’s an incredibly stupid standard, especially considering not one of the four is a young buck, but it’s also not an indictment on their focus in the relegation race. The Spanish camp is a break for the players to come together; These four just chose to do something illegal (allegedly).

Olivier Giroud was brought in to score goals, but on his full Chelsea debut it was his strong hold-up play that earned the Blues all three points.

The Frenchman started and set up Eden Hazard for the opening goal after a half-hour, warding off a defender and letting his new teammate slice through the back line to score as Chelsea topped West Brom at Stamford Bridge 3-0.

West Brom was forced into an early change as January signing Daniel Sturridge limped off injured after just four minutes following, a familiar sight for Premier League fans. On came Jay Rodriguez, who had the best chance of the first half-hour after Victor Moses accidentally played him through, but he fired wide one-on-one with Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

The opening 30 minutes saw Chelsea enjoy decent control but West Brom poked and prodded. However the Blues opened the scoring through Hazard, who took a strong layoff from Olivier Giroud on a one-two play, leaving the Belgian clean through after the nifty touch.

After halftime, the game ground to a halt, and with an hour gone Antonio Conte withdrew Giroud in favor of Alvaro Morata who returned from his injury layoff. The change sparked the Blues, and they scored just three minutes later. Victor Moses found Cesc Fabregas at the top of the box, and the Spaniard looked to play the ball back to Moses, and while his rabona pass clipped a defender, it still found Moses streaking on net and the Nigerian finished cooly for a 2-0 lead.

With the Blues firmly in control, they tacked on a third with 20 minutes to go. A moment of brilliance saw Hazard cut inside to beat Jonny Evans, and fired on net, crashing the shot home inside the near post for a 3-0 lead and the game decided.

The win gets Chelsea back to winning ways after a small two-game losing streak in Premier League play, pushing them above Tottenham into fourth position and a single point back of Liverpool in third. For West Brom, it’s their third straight defeat in league play and leaves them bottom of the table, without a win since defeating Brighton 2-0 on January 13.

With the window ending on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET, now is the time to analyze which clubs did the best wheeling and dealing over the past 31 days.

Below is a grade for all 20 clubs based on their business.

Arsenal: A
All in all, a very good window for the Gunners. They got Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Alexis Sanchez in a straight-swap, then spun Olivier Giroud out to Chelsea on Deadline Day for $25 million and brought in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for $77 million as well as Mesut Ozil agreeing a new deal. They sold Theo Walcott and Francis Coquelin as well as getting Matheiu Debuchy off the books. Despite their defense still needing work this was a major rebuild by Arsene Wenger, all for just $10 million net. Very, very fruitful January and plenty of promise for the months ahead.

West Brom: B+
They kept hold of captain and inspirational center back Jonny Evans for their impending relegation battle and added a world-class striker in Daniel Sturridge on loan from Liverpool. A fine window for Alan Pardew‘s Baggies who also added Egyptian center back Ali Gabr as cover.

Manchester United: B+
The Sanchez deal was a massive bonus for United who couldn’t believe their luck when Man City pulled out of the deal. Jose Mourinho also got rid of Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the deal and United loaned out a few fringe players. Sanchez should give them the boost they need in the final months of the season to finish in the top four and go far in the Champions League.

Chelsea: B+
Pretty decent window for the Blues in the end as Olivier Giroud arrived on Deadline Day, plus Ross Barkley was well with a gamble at $20 million and Emerson Palmeri will provide key competition at left back. Antonio Conte may not have the overall say on transfers, but his squad has been strengthened with Michy Batshuayi leaving on loan the only major departure.

Manchester City: B
Swing and a miss on Mahrez and Alexis Sanchez but Aymeric Laporte arrived for a club-record $80 million fee and he will be a long-term project in defense. Jack Harrison was the only other arrival and the former NYCFC man is a product of the City Football Group who loaned him out to Middlesbrough right away.

Liverpool: B
They addressed their big need at CB with Virgil Van Dijk coming in, but was that all that Liverpool needed? Philippe Coutinho‘s departure for $197 million saw them bag VVD and come out $97 million on top in the deal, but Klopp will definitely spend big on a goalkeeper and a few more defenders in the summer.

Brighton & Hove Albion: B
The Seagulls needed to add extra firepower and they did that with Jurgen Locadia and Leonardo Ulloa arriving. A decent window for Brighton and they kept hold of their star players.

Tottenham Hotspur: B-
A Deadline Day arrival with Lucas Moura coming in from PSG for $32 million which could be a steal. He will give Spurs something extra in attack in their top four battle. Loaning out several fringe players will be helpful.

Swansea City: C+
Solid enough window for the Swans as brought in Andre Ayew on Deadline Day for $23 million as he returned to the Swans and will add goals. They kept hold of Alfie Mawson which was a big moment. Given their recent good form, they didn’t need to add much.

Everton: C+Cenk Tosun and Theo Walcott were a necessity with Sam Allardyce desperate to increase his attacking options. Eliaquim Mangala arriving on loan provides extra defensive cover too. Kevin Mirallas, Sandro and Ross Barkley all leaving was a bonus and the Toffees probably needed to trim the wage-bill further too.

Stoke City: C
Badou Ndiaye’s arrival on Deadline Day could be a nifty pick-up in midfield with $19.8 million spent, while Moritz Bauer and Kostas Stafylidis will be steady defensive additions to the squad. Paul Lambert needs to rejuvenate the talent within his squad too.

Southampton: C-
The big loss was Virgil van Dijk but they got $100 million for him from Liverpool and a record deal for a center back. It was time he left after not playing anywhere near his full potential. Guido Carrillo has arrived to add extra firepower but not getting the deal over the line for Quincy Promes has left a cloud hanging over their window.

WestHamUnited: D
Frustrating window in many respects for David Moyes who did plenty of wheeling and dealing late on. Hit by injuries to key players, he needed to do plenty late on and Joao Mario’s addition on loan from Inter looks like a superb signing. Jordan Hugill arrived from Preston too and will add strength in depth up front.

Watford: D
Javi Gracia’s arrival as manager saw Gerard Deulofeu arrive on loan, but keeping Troy Deeney could be a bigger deal. Didier Ndong has arrived on loan too but the Hornets could have done with a few more defensive reinforcements.

Huddersfield Town: D
Terrence Kongolo and Alex Pritchard were the key arrivals and although the Terriers spent big on Pritchard, you feel like David Wagner could have worked the loan window a little better.

Crystal Palace: DErdal Rakip and Jaroslaw Jach will bolster Roy Hodgson‘s squad but the veteran manager will have wanted more from this window. His search for a new striker didn’t go well but Palace did sign Alexander Sorloth late on. Despite their recent good form, the Eagles rely heavily on Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend and Christian Benteke.

Bournemouth: D
No significant arrivals and plenty of youngsters shipped out on loan. Not a busy window at all for the Cherries as Eddie Howe decided to keep his cash in his pocket. With the relegation picture so tight, Bournemouth are another club in the bottom half who could rue not spending.

Newcastle United: D-
A disappointing window for the Magpies who needed a striker but Daniel Sturridge turned them down and Nicolai Jorgensen was too expensive. Kenedy arrived on loan from Chelsea and given the state of limbo with a new ownership deal in doubt, Rafael Benitez must be a very frustrated man. A late loan move for Islam Slimani could save the day for the Magpies though.

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With all due credit to the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saga, which has replaced the Alexis-Mkhitaryan saga as the saga du semaine in the Premier League, there are other players potentially on the move this week.

Here’s who we think you should keep an eye on as January moves to its conclusion.

1) The list should arguably start and end with Jonny Evans, in that whether or not he moves could lay out how much else his current and prospective new club will do in the remainder of the window.

Evans is the sort of player — with respect to Papiss Cisse — that every club needs, and also brings the experience of knowing it could be better and worse from his time winning PL titles at Manchester United and, well, not winning them at West Brom and on loan to Sunderland. He’s 30, not old for a center back, and he’ll be worth every penny.

2) Thinking of Andre Schurrle‘s time at Chelsea has us daydreaming about a similar Chelsea outcast turned reborn Bundesliga star in Kevin De Bruyne (though certainly few are betting on the German to become a Ballon d’Or finalist under Alan Pardew, Rafa Benitez, or Mauricio Pochettino) What’s neat about his case is that his loan move from Borussia Dortmund — and the German club’s potential to pay half the wages if not more — would allow a club who wouldn’t normally get a player of his class to dream a bit. Then again, it could be a bit of “Jese with PL experience.”

3) Aleksandar Mitrovic‘s wild nature has caused his status to shrink deep into the recesses of Rafa Benitez’s mind, which is a shame because Newcastle really could use him, and he could be a breakout forward at the World Cup this summer. Maybe West Brom needs to trade Salomon Rondon for “Mitro” straight up so two baffling PL strike cases can get fresh starts. Or maybe…